Information-displaying device



W. C. CUTLER.

INFORMATION DISPLAYING DEVICE.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 2, 1920.

1,380,290. Patent d May 31. 1921.

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' l VE TOR ATTORNEY W. C. CUTLER.

INFORMATIONDISPLAYINGDEVICE.

APPLICATION FILED FEB..2. 1920.

1,380,290 Patented May 31,1921.

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INVENTOFE."

55 plate near the setting and selecting button.

} UNITED STATES PATENTOFFICE.

WILLIAM G. CUTLER, OF NORTH GLENDALE, CALIFORNIA.

IN FORMATION -DISPLAYIEN' G DEVICE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed February 2, 1920. Serial No. 355,826.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM G. CUTLER, a citizen of the United States, residing at North Glendale, in the county of Los Angeles and State of California, have invented displaying members stored in resting and I of the pulleys.

inoperative position directly on pulleys.

Another object is to have a setting means engaging over the pulleys thereby holding the information displaying members engaged to the pulleys when the displaying members are in storing position in relation to the pulleys.

Another object is closely to store the displaying members in such a manner that they becomemore spaced, and free to easily move at a point where one of the members at a time'is to be lifted out of storing position into displaying position from the pulle s.

bther objects will appear from the following description and appended claims as well as from the accompanying drawing, in whicha a Figure 1' is a vertical cross sectional view of the device.

i Fig. 2 is a diagrammatical illustration of the setting mechanism.

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary detail front elevation of a storing pulley with the engaging portion'of the lifting mechanism and a portion of the information displaying members.

Fig. 4 is a diagrammatical illustration of the cards or information-displaying means stored in the lower part of the periphery Fig. 5 is a fragmentary detail front elevation of engaging means for the card-carrying pulleys. I

ig. 6 is a front elevation of the complete device.

Fig. 7 i a fragmentary detail end elevation of theinterlocking means between the selecting and lifting means.

- "Fig. 8 is-a top plan view of the locking Fig. 9 is a fragmentary detail front eleva- Patented May 31, 1921.

tion of the operating weight member and coacting parts.

It is only the most natural thing that a device of this kind should have facilities for T the possibly largest variety of informations, and with. this point in View it is necessary that such a device should have a proper storing capacity.

The cabinet 5 forms the housing of the device, inclosing all other working mechanism except such parts as are provided for handling the inside working mechanism and extend to a suitable point outside. The button 6 extends to the outside for handling the inside mechanism for setting the information-displaying members to a selective position. The pedal 7 extends to the outside for handling and operating the inside mechanism for lifting the so selected displaying member into a displaying position.

Theinformation displaying members are arranged within the cabinet 5 in proper order according to an index, which may be kept on the desk 16 or any other suitable point or place near the cabinet; indicating marks corresponding to the index being provided near the slot 29 on the desk 16 so that the setting and selecting button 6 can be set near such marks, indicated at 30 in Fig. 6.

8 designates a pulley provided with a' groove as indicated at 9 in Fig. 3, and also provided with a suitable number of notches indicated at 10 crosswise to the groove 9,

(seeFig. 1.) The information-displaying members 11 preferably constitute cards on which the information is printed. Such cards can be rather thin and will therefore of course allow quite a'few more members to be stored than are illustrated in the draw ing, as will easily be understood without further illustration. The cards 11 are provided with pins 12 on the opposite sides near the upper edge to engage with the notches 10 in the pulleys. Two pulleys are then necessary to support the cards. A flexible member is placed over the pulleys o as to engage over the pins of the cards as indicated at 13 thereby holding the pinsof these pulleys 8 for bringing any of the cards to a selective position from which they may be lifted by the means provided for that purpose.

Since such cards preferably are of material which will easily bend, such as paper, suitably prepared cloth, or other similar material, such cards can be stored almost over the whole periphery of the pulleys 8, see the illustration in Fig. 4. The first, or it might just as well be called the last card 15 would hang down, held to the pulleys 8 (or held in its position in relation to the pulleys) by the flexible members 13 so that the next cards would hang over the card 15 in a somewhat similar manner as illustrated in Fig. 4, Such an arrangement allows a large number of cards to be stored.

.A turning of the pulleys 8 is accomplished with the arrangement of the devices as illustrated in Fig. 2. The button 6 is lidably mounted in a longitudinal slot in the desk 16 of the. cabinet 5, and has connected to its inner end. a suitable number of flexible members in a manner to turn the pulleys 8 in the desired manner. In the drawing, one way of connecting such flexible members is illustrated in Fig. 2, but it will easily be understood that other similar arrangements can be made to accomplish the same result, and the point in view is to have the pulleys turned so that both pulleys turn an equal portion and in the same direction I when operated by the button.

Assuming the flexible member 17 to be interconnected to the flexible member 13 at about the point at 18 in Fig. l'would mean that these flexible members had been oper- -ated to such an extent as to bring by a pulling of these flexible members the pulleys 8 to the position in which they are illustrated in Fig. 1, as will easily be understood. Interconnecting another flexible member 19 to the flexible member 13 at about the point 20,- or even at a point farther around the pulley, would naturally allow a turning in the opposite direction when pulled by such flexible members.

illustration in Fig. 2 it will be clear that a pulling on the upper flexible members 17 by a shifting of the button 6 to the right causes a releasing of the lower flexible member 19 with help of the extra pulley 20. The same actionis obtained on the opposite pulley 8 which is connected with the flexible members 21 and 22, the member 21 being connected to the upper portion of the cable or flexible a member 13 on the opposite pulley 8 and the member 22 being connected to the lower portion of the same flexible member. A moving of the button 6 to the'right then causes a pulling of the upper flexible member of the left hand pulley 8 by the member 17 while also causing a pulling of theupper portion of the flexible member of the right When comparing these actions in relation with the hand pulley 8 by the member 21, a releasing of the lower left hand member 19 and the lower right hand member 22 is caused through the same movement of the button as can be followed up by this illustration.

Having set one of the cards to a selective position, such selected card is then lifted from the pulleys by themember 24, which is provided with a suitable hook 25, see Figs. 1 and 3. A stepping on the pedal 7 causes downward movement of the member 26,

weight, resulting in a falling of the weight as described above.

In devices of this class it is necessary to lock and keep the setting and selecting means locked while the lifting mechanism is being operated, and to lock and keep the lifting mechanism locked while the setting and selecting mechanism is being operated. A dent or recess 35 is indicated in Fig. 9 on the weight 27, allowing the member or rod 36, illustrated in Fig. 1, to engage with the weight for holding the weight 27 in its uppermost position in which it is illustrated while and whenever the setting and selecting mechanism is being operated.

In Figs. 7 and 8, the interlocking of the setting and selecting mechanism with the lifting mechanism is illustrated. The rod 37 connects the double lever 38 with the foot pedal 7, see Fig. 1. The motion of the foot pedal is transmittedthrough the double lever 38 to the locking member or plate 39, and the motion of the plate'39 is transmitted through the double lever 40 to the rod 36. A. spring 41 is'provided for allowing a telescoping action at 42 within the rod 37. The setting or selecting knob or button 6 is provided with a suitable engaging member 43 to engage with one of theteeth or notches 44 of the locking plate 39.

" In case one of the teeth 44 of the locking 39,40 and 36 move normally by the opera-- tion of the foot pedal, and the weight '27 is free to descend as described above. As soon nereby allowing theweight 27 to slowly 'fall, retarded by the dash-pot 28 since the and as long as the weight 27 is out of its normal uppermost position, the rod 36 being out of the dent or recess 35, the setting mechanism is locked.

In Fig. 5, a locking mechanism for the card-carrying pulleys 8 is illustrated, also indicated in Fig. 1. The operating of the foot pedal 7 moves the bar or rod down- Wardly, thereby releasing the double lever 46, operated by the spring 47 so as to bring the upper hook-shaped end 48 into engagement with the pulleys 8. The pulleys are only released when the foot pedal 7 reaches its uppermost position so that the lower termination 49 of the slot in the bar 45 engages with the lever 46 thereby disengaging the levers from the pulleys.

Having thus described my invention, 1 claim:

1. In an information-displaying device, circular members having a suitable number of means for receiving and storing information-displaying members in the periphery of the circular members, means disposed over the periphery of the circular member so as to encircle the sides and bottom but leaving a space in the top portion of the periphery for holding the informationdisplaying members engaged with the circular members in the storing portion of the periphery while allowing a removing of a card when the circular members are turned so as to bring that card to a point where the means are left spaced from the periphery, means for moving the informationdisplaying members on the circular members to such a point as a selective position, and means for lifting such selected member into displaying position.

2. In an information-displaying device, a

pulley having a circumferential groove in its periphery and having a suitable number of notches in the periphery crosswise to the groove.

3. In an information-displaying device, two oppositely arranged pulleys each having a circumferential groove in its periphery and having a suitable number of notches in the periphery crosswise to the groove, means for turning the pulleys to a selective position and for holding the cards to the periphery of the pulleys as long as such cards are in storing position, and means forming the lifting mechanism for the device.

4. In an information-displaying device, a series of cards, pulleys having circumferential and cross grooves for storing the cards, means for holding the cards on the periphery of the pulleys when the cards are in storing position, means for moving the pulleys to bring one of the cards into selective position, and means for taking the selected card into displaying position.

5. In an information-displaying device, a series of cards, pulleys having circumferential and cross grooves for storing the cards in the periphery of the,pulleys, means for moving the cards into selective position and for holding the cards to the periphery of the pulleys as long as such cards are in storing position, and means for moving one so selected card into displaying position.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my invention I have signed my name in the presence of two subscribing Witnesses.

WILLIAM G. CUTLER. Witnesses:

HERMAN NELSON, C. T. MoRRIsoN. 

